Peru

Chewing on ginger root or mint leaves can ease an upset stomach, and hemp can be used as a source of fuel or to make clothing. These are just a few examples of the benefits plants can provide, and scientists are discovering more advantages of new plants in places like the Amazon rainforests every day.

The Amazon region of South America is home to so many different species of animals it can be hard to keep track of who's who, but the black-capped squirrel monkeys tend to stand out from the pack. These tree-dwelling primates have brownish-yellow coats of fur with distinctly darker heads, white masks around their eyes and fuzzy elvish ears. They can be found in many tropical regions from Brazil to Peru and Bolivia, and even as far north as Costa Rica.

International Expeditions’ naturalist-guided Amazon voyages give you the chance to spot some of the thousands of species of animals that live in the rainforest. While some move so fast you may only catch a quick glimpse, you'll likely have plenty of time to observe a sloth. These gentle creatures are never in a hurry and spend much of their time languidly napping or eating in the trees of the Amazon rainforest.

The green anaconda is one of the world’s largest snakes. The reticulated python of Southeast Asia attains tremendous lengths, but they are not nearly as heavy bodied as large female green anacondas. A 20-foot-long female green anaconda may weigh well over 200 pounds. These snakes are semi-aquatic, spending a great deal of time submerged in floating vegetation such as water lettuce and water hyacinths.

Howler monkeys are abundant in the Amazon rainforests and as the name indicates, they are quite a vocal group of primates. There are a number of howler monkey species living in South America, from the mantled howler and the black howler to the red-handed and Colombian red howler. The black howler is one of the largest species of the New World monkeys, standing at just over three feet tall with a tail about the same length.

Along the Peruvian Amazon River near Iquitos, the fluctuation of water levels is one of the Neotropics’ most amazing natural history events. The ebbing and flooding of water dictates the way of life for so many species including plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and the local people — the ribereños. During high water times and low water extremes, the difference in water levels may change over 45 feet in one year in the Iquitos area.

It’s no surprise that Central America has a lot to offer in the way of drinks that have a little bite to them, whether it’s rum, sugar cane liquor, or in the way of lighter options, pilsner beer. However, there’s more to Central America drinks. Today we feature a few of the best non-alcoholic drinks in Central America.

Hatchet-faced treefrogs are extremely attractive greenish colored frogs with very short, sharply angular noses which give them their name — hatchet-faced. There are three species of this frog found in the Peruvian Amazon, and the greater hatchet-face and pygmy hatchet-face tend to be relatively abundant.

Many of us living in the United States — especially in the central states of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas — are very familiar with a long-tailed bird called a scissor-tailed flycatcher. They are often observed on fences, light posts and other exposed places where they scan the air for flying insects, upon which they feed. In the Southern Hemisphere, there is a counterpart of the scissor-tailed flycatcher called a fork-tailed flycatcher. Amazingly, this species has even longer tail feathers — so long that it is a wonder that these birds can even fly!